“You killed my father: Prepare to die.” Motives…

I'm working on a section on character motivation for the LoS game. here's a draft of what I have so far...

Why does your character do what he does? Why doesn’t he just settle down and work as a clerk in a dry goods store (hey, it’s honest work)? Why does he feel the need to explore ruins and kill strangers? What motivates the adventurer?

When creating your character be sure to give some thought to their motivation. The following are some classic examples used in countless tales.


Vengeance –
o Bandits raided you village and killed everyone while you were away hunting. Now you are hunting them down, one by one.
o The local lord lusted after your girlfriend, she spurned his sweaty advances and in a fit of rage he killed her.
o The ______clan has been your clan’s sworn enemy for years. At a meeting meant to end the feud your clan was ambushed. Somehow you survived. Now it’s payback time.

To win or win back a kingdom-
• You were prophesized to one day wear a crown and tread a despot beneath your sandaled feet.
• Your father was many things, a good general wasn’t one of them. He lost the battle, the war, and his kingdom. You pledged to him on his deathbed to return from exile and reclaim your rightful place as king.

Soldier of fortune-
• You live by your sword. It’s all you’ve ever known. Going from one job to another. Sometimes you believe what your fighting for, other times you just want enough to keep you in wine and whores till a better job comes along.

Kings agent-
• You are a patriot and loyal subject of your liege. You serve at his beck and call, and from time to time he has need of your special skills.

Freedom fighter-
• Your land has been overrun by an usurper and it has fallen to you and your comrades to free the people from the invader!

Remove a curse-
• The love of your life has been cursed by an unknown evil. She rests now, safe, but incurable. You have vowed to find a cure, lift the curse, or die trying.

Protect the child-
• It was written in the holy texts that a child of light shall be born, a child to bring peace to the age of man. It is your duty to protect this child from the evils of the world until she is ready to fulfill the prophecies

Get home-
• You haven’t seen you wife in five long years, your sons are becoming men without you, but now the wars are over and all you want to do now is get home. It’s going to be a long journey, we best get started.

Bored on the farm-
• Your father is a farmer, his father was a farmer, and your brothers are farmers. Your uncle, “the rebel” of the family is a baker. You have GOT to get out of this town.


Hero out of time-
• You are from another time or another world. You may be desperately trying to find a way back home or you might feel that your knowledge and skills will be enough to carve out a kingdom amongst these primitives.